Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
Brad Schultz he knew he had to get his family back to Pennsylvania.
Sure, it meant traveling 800 miles, but in the Calder Cup Finals, you do what you have to do.
So Brad and his son, who is 15 years old Cooper, collect the car and hit the highway. Their friend, Hershey Bears forward Jimmy Huntingtonone win in the Calder Cup.
Like many hockey friendships, this one started out small. The Schultzes, of Cedarburg, Wis., are Milwaukee Admirals ticket holders with seats near the glass at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. When Huntington joined the Admirals in 2021, a bond quickly formed as the Schultzes and the personable, outgoing Huntington hit it off during warmups.
Schultze's seats are known as Cooper's Corner.
Huntington signed with the Bears last summer, but his relationship with Cooper continued. The Schultzes visited Hershey on a weekend in March.
“When we left,” Brad recalled, “we said if they went to the finals we would come back.”
Huntington went on to set career highs in goals (16) and points (33) in the regular season before going off with 14 points in 20 playoff games. He scored two goals in Game 5 Finals against Coachella Valley to give the Bears a chance to win the Calder Cup back at the Giant Center.
And the Schulzes will be there. Just over a minute into Game 6 last Monday night, Matt Strome scored the game-winning goal in front of 11,013 fans — including the Schultz family.
As the Bears and their families celebrated on the ice and hoisted the Calder Cup, the Schulzes were there too.
Huntington joked, “I didn't make them drive for nothing. It's really big.”
“It's amazing,” said Brad. “You go from hitting the glass a few times to standing on the ice and raising the trophy. I ask myself every day, 'Is this real life?'”
Huntington's memorable season with the Bears paid off. He signed a one-year NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins when free agency opened this week. And whether Huntington is in Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre next year, his biggest fans will still be family in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
“We have to drive here every 12 hours,” said Brad Schultz. “We will do it again.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has covered the American Hockey League for nearly two decades at outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM ! Sports, and most recently was the host of The Hockey News On The 'A' podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league's top scorer in 2016.
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